Baker Street, Regents Park, Fitzrovia and the British Museum

Route Description for Baker Street, Regents Park, Fitzrovia and the British Museum

This is a great half-day walk around Central London, though make sure you allocate enough time for the British Museum. It is an incredible collection, and a guided tour really helps visitors make sense of what they’re seeing.

Start this London walk on Marylebone Road, just outside of Baker Street Station. Take a minute to look at the Sherlock Holmes Statue, located on the corner of Marylebone Road and Baker Street. This statue is a tribute to one of the most famous literary characters in history.

Walk approximately 75 m and turn right onto Baker Street, passing the Sherlock Holmes Museum on the way. Take some time to visit the museum at 221b Baker Street as it is one of the most famous addresses in all of London and home to detective Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson, characters made famous by the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Along Baker Street, you will also find some good places to grab a bite to eat. Hidden away, Nambu-tei offers popular Japanese cuisine, while the popular Pret A Manger is nearby, offering sandwiches, coffee, and other snacks. Consider picking up some snacks at Pret and having a picnic in Regent’s Park. Alternatively, if you are thirsty, visit a traditional British pub by stopping at The Volunteer.

When you come to the crossing Park Road, cross over the road and go left. You will soon pass the world-class London Business School, often ranked with Harvard and Stanford as one of the best business schools in the world. While the building looks plain on this side of the road, the main building is the incredible Sussex Place, which faces out onto Regent’s Park. Just after LBS, you will see The Windsor Castle Pub, another good place to stop for a pint, also frequented by the students of London Business School.

Just after The Windsor Castle go right onto Kent Passage as it leads down to Outer Circle and then into Regent’s Park and a pretty Boating Lake. You’ll now walk through Regent’s Park, a wonderful and less-visited park in London. Originally a royal hunting ground, the park now contains London Zoo, different gardens, sport facilities, playgrounds, and an artificial lake, among many other things. Football games (or soccer to Americans) fill the park after work finishes for the day. Take some time in Regent's Park to look at the spectacular buildings that surround it too. It is worth walking along the outside of the park to get a better look.

To follow our route:

Go left at the Boating Lake and walk towards The Boathouse Café. Go right and cross the bridge before going left at the public toilets and walking on a path through some trees. When you join another pass go left again, eventually crossing Outer Circle and then taking a bridge over the Regent’s Canal. The Regent’s Canal opened in 1816 and goes across an area just north of Central London, and offers a pleasant walk for locals and tourists alike.

Head right on the path after crossing the canal. Walk along the path for 550 m passing over Avenue Road and past the Regent's Park Running Track on your right. Turn left onto the next path.

Follow the path for as it curves to the right, turn left to cross Prince Albert Road and walk into Primrose Hill. This pleasant park is a popular place to enjoy a sunny day, and the views from the top of Primrose Hill are spectacular.

Follow whatever path you want to the top of Primrose Hill and enjoy the views. If you want to have a picnic here, but forgot something to eat, Regent’s Park Road (on the eastern side of the park) leads onto a series of shops and restaurants to grab a bite.

Once you have finished soaking in this view, continue down the path, aiming for where you entered Primrose Hill at Prince Albert Road.

Head back into Regent's Park from Prince Albert Road, but go straight and cross over the path you were on previously, crossing over the Regent’s Canal and continuing ahead until you reach Outer Circle, which you cross as well. Just after crossing over the road, take the left branch and follow the path for about 500 m, passing by the London Zoo along the way.

When you reach a fork in the path go left and you end up at the Ready Money Drinking Fountain. The fountain is named after Sir Cowasjee Jehangir's more commonly known name, Ready Money, who donated the sculpture fountain in 1869 as thanks for protection that he and other Parsees received from British rule in India.

Turn right onto the circle path and walk along the Broad Walk. You will cross Chester Road, where there is The Espresso Bar, then continue along The Broad Walk until you reach Outer Circle. You will pass the Avenue Gardens on your way, including the English Gardens. In the middle of the gardens you can find the Lion Vase, a large stone bowl held up by four stone, winged lions.

Take a right at the Outer Circle and walk about 100 m where you then turn left on Park Square West. You will find the Park Square Gardens on your left-hand side. Follow Park Square West as it crosses busy Marylebone Road and changes to Park Crescent, with the beautiful curving buildings.

Turn right onto Portland Place and then shortly afterwards turn left onto Devonshire Street. Follow Devonshire Street for 150 m before taking a right at Great Portland Street. If you want to experience a traditional London pub, try The Mason Arms on Devonshire Street, a nineteenth-century pub that serves English and Thai food along with cask ales.

The next part of the walk involves a lot of turns, and if you just want to make it easy, try and walk to the base of the large BT Tower, which is a tall tower easily visible on this walk.

Walk down Great Portland Street for about 45 m then turn left onto Carburton Street. Follow Carburton Street for 170 m and take a left at the bend to stay on Carburton Street and you come to Cleveland Street, where you go right. Follow Cleveland Street for 85 m before turning left at Grafton Way.

Head down Grafton Way for 50 m and come to the corner of Fitzroy Square. This is a nice square but unfortunately private, so only residents can enter. Instead, turn right onto Conway Street and then go left when you come to Maple Street. Continue on Maple Street for 30 m and take a right onto Cleveland Mews.

Follow Cleveland Mews for 100 m, passing BT Tower. The tower acts as a great reference point while you are walking around London. Go left on Howland Street and then take a right onto Charlotte Street.

Continue down Charlotte Street for 170 m before turning left onto Tottenham Street. Along the way you will pass BOBO Social, a great place to enjoy a delicious burger made with fresh ingredients from all over Britain. Gaucho Charlotte Street is a great Argentinian restaurant for meat lovers.

Go left on Tottenham Street for 150 m before turning right at Tottenham Court Road. Tottenham Street offers yet more places to eat and drinks. Along the street you will find Bay Leaf Café, Gigs Fish & Chips, and Hiba Express.

Follow Tottenham Court Road for 300 m, if you’re into paper products, Paperchase has the best selection of paper, pens, and interesting paper knickknacks.

Take a left on Bayley Street. The Jack Horner, a British pub serving pints and pies, is located at the corner of these two roads. Walk down Bayley Street, passing Gail’s Bakery, and come to Bedford Square. If the weather is nice you may want to stop at Bedford Square gardens - created in the late eighteenth century, it offers a perfect example of Georgian architecture.

You can either keep going straight at Bedford Square and then cross the road and continue into Montague Place, however we love to walk around the square, exploring the buildings, it is really a very pretty square.

Walk down Montague Place for 230 m, you are at the back of The British Museum. On your left is Malet Street Gardens, part of the University of London. This sunken garden offers a hidden green haven in the city.

You soon reach Russell Square, which was designed and built in 1806. Russell Square is a large garden that includes a Cabman's Shelter, café, and fountain within the square. Take a look at the monument to the Duke of Bedford while you are in the square. Across from the Duke of Bedford Monument, you will find the road Bedford Place.

Walk down Bedford Place for 220 m as it takes you to Bloomsbury Square Gardens, which is a another fun square to explore. A fun fact for you, Bloomsbury Square was the first site in London to have the name "square" in its title. It is also surrounded by great architecture so take time to sit on a bench and take in your surroundings.

After spending time in the Bloomsbury Square Gardens, head back to where you entered and go left, following Bloomsbury Square/ Great Russell Street for 210 m before turning coming to the stunning entrance to The British Museum. Be sure to budget at least an hour or two to explore the British Museum, though there is so much here it’s worth repeated visits. The British Museum contains more than two million years of human culture and history. The collection includes several of the most famous objects in the world such as the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, and parts of the Parthenon. The guided morning tours are highly recommended, and should be booked well in advance.

After visiting the British Museum, come out and follow Museum Street for 150 m, it is filled with places to grab a bite or a drink. Along this road you will find Museum Tavern, Bibimbab Café, and Plough among others.

Walk down Museum Street and go left onto New Oxford Street as it changes to High Holborn. You will pass My Old Dutch Pancake House and yet another Pret A Manger along the way. Turn right onto Kingsway and you’ll reach Holborn Station.

Insider Hints for Baker Street, Regents Park, Fitzrovia and the British Museum

• You could add a visit to Madam Tussaud’s at the start of this walk, the entrance is just east of the Baker Street Tube station.
• It’s fun to rent a boat in Regent’s Park, though not too cheap!
• Book a guided morning tour at the British Museum. A tour really helps you understand what you are looking at and why it is important. Tours should be booked well in advance.
• Instead of going left on New Oxford Street to the Holborn Tube station, you could go right and walk down Oxford Street and go left after Tottenham Court Road to explore Soho.